Following the Leader
by Ravenclaw's Redhead
Summary: "Some things in life are good, some are misunderstood, and some are completely evil. It was from one of these irrevocable evils that they were trying to escape, for like doctors, giant spiders, and creatures from your nightmares, some things are better run from than fought." Two Lost Boys try to escape Neverland, but Pan's favourite pixie catches them. How I imagined Once's Tink.


This was how I had originally envisioned Tinkerbell, and Neverland to an extent, before Season 3 began. However, I still adore Rose McIver's version just as much! Needless to say, this is a non-canon, and AU, I suppose, oneshot. Enjoy!

There are some things in this world which are good, some which are misunderstood, and some which, no matter how you look at them, are completely evil. It was from one of these irrevocable evils that two boys were trying to escape, for like doctors, giant spiders, and creatures from your nightmares, some things are better run from than fought. The pair flew through the forest in the darkness, not pausing as their clothing was snagged and their faces were scratched by branches they ran past, the twisted trees seeming to tighten around them. Despite belonging to this island for what may have been an eternity, they had been unable to understand the layout of the island. No one could, for it was always changing. No one except _him_.

Like paprika, cinnamon, and other spices, hope is something that is easily dashed, and as the boys continued to flee for their lives, they could slowly feel their hopes and their energy, running out. Just as they slowed, their legs ready to collapse underneath them, they spotted a faint light emitting from the trees. With a resurgence of energy, they took off once again, noticing the trees thinning on either side of them. With victory and the taste of sea water on their tongues, they braced themselves for the ocean breeze as they ran through the last of the trees.

When you are excited about something, especially when you've been thinking about nothing else for weeks and weeks, and then that something is snatched from right under your nose, the disappointment you feel is far worse than if you had never had anything to look forward to at all. So when the two boys exited the forest, and saw that they were trapped atop a steep and rocky cliff, they thought that they would almost rather be back in their beds with their brothers and _him_ watching over them, rather than risked everything and tried to escape. Skull Rock floated before them in the inky waters they desperately wished they could reach, echoing the fate they feared for themselves. The eldest, not nearly a man yet, shook his dark brown hair out of his equally dark eyes, and began pacing along the edge of the cliff, muttering to himself and trying to think of a new plan for their salvation. The younger of the two, half his brother's age, flopped down on the ground, tugging at his strawberry-blonde hair as he too struggled for a solution. A most unfortunate thing about Neverland was that despite never growing, they were forced to grow up too fast.

It wasn't until they began to panic about being captured, the youngest boy curling up on his side in despair, that he felt an uncomfortable lump in his side. Reaching into his pocket, his eyes widened in disbelief as he pulled out a small vial filled with a dull gold dust. Scrambling to his feet, he clutched the twine threaded through the stopper of the vial to him desperately, nearly bowling his comrade over in his jubilance.

"We can use this! We can fly home! We can go find Wen-" His screams became muffled as the older boy clasped his hand over the boys mouth, shushing him as he looked around to see if they had been overheard.

"Shut up!" He replied, his voice an angry whisper, "We'll be found for sure if you keep going on like that." He eyed the vial in the other boy's hand suspiciously. "What makes you think that that sand is pixie dust? Where did you even get it?"

"I found it under my bed as we were packing our things," the boy began, holding on to the vial like a lifeline. "It was old and covered in dust and I thought maybe someone lost it and forgot about it…" The older boy bit the inside of his cheek, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the vial.

"If that really _is_ pixie dust," he began, still sceptical, "how would we get it to work? Don't you have to be a pixie?" The little boy shook his head frantically, grasping the vial so tightly the other worried he would break it.

"It will work, I know it will!" With that proclamation of belief, the vial began to glow brightly, and the two hastened to cover it up so it wouldn't give them away. Peeking inside, trying to keep the light between them, the two saw that the dust was floating within the vial, bouncing off the inside in its excitement to get out of the vial. The boys nearly sagged with relief. Pixie dust was a sure way to get them out of Neverland and back home. The elder boy reached forward, and loosened the stopper off the top of the bottle…

Baking a cake, singing in an acapella group, and opening a bottle of pixie dust to use on yourself and your brother in the hopes of flying away from a monstrous island and reuniting with your sister, are all things that can be drastically ruined by bad timing. For as the stopper came off the bottle, a bright green glow shone from the forest behind them, and the tinkling sound of sparkling pixie dust came with it. Turning slowly in horror, the two hoped with all the faith, trust, and pixie dust they could muster that the creature more fearsome than all except Pan had not come for them. They turned, bracing themselves, and saw only the dark forest they had come from.

"That's mine."

The boys whipped back around and spotted a small ball of sparkling lime green light floating past the cliff's edge. Was this the legendary creature that all the Lost Boys feared so much? The one known as Pan's second-in-command, the thing that had, for so long, prevented them from so much as thinking of escaping for fear of her wrath? She was _tiny_. As if on cue, there was a puff of glittering pixie dust, and the slender figure of a full-grown woman now hovered in front of them, a cloak hiding her from view, her wings somehow free to flap behind her, keeping her aloft. The cloak was a deep green, swirled with patterns that the boys knew would keep her well concealed should she be tracking a victim in the forest, and with a jolt of fear they realized that in all likelihood she had been tracking _them_. A pale, dainty hand poked through one of the long sleeves of the cloak, and the pixie drew her hood back, unclasping the brooch that hid her body form view.

Pale skin the colour of ivory was slowly exposed, clad in a form-fitting, short dress that seemed to be made from the leaves of the dark forest. Ivy wound its way around her bare arms and legs, stopping before her bare feet. Golden blonde hair was kept back in a thick ponytail, curling tendrils escaping from it and framing her face and her entrancing, dark blue eyes. This woman did not look like a monster at all, but rather an angel of the forest, a nymph, and while this caused the younger boy to sigh in relief at the harmless sight before him, his brother was experiencing a different sort of trepidation. While his body had not aged since being brought to Neverland, it appeared that his mind had, and alien, forbidden thoughts swirled through his head enticingly. The pixie floated towards the boys slowly, reaching towards the eldest, and he stood, transfixed and trembling slightly at her proximity, before she snatched the vial of pixie dust away from him and flew back over the edge of the cliff. The boy blushed.

"Stealing from Pan, are we?" she scolded, raising an eyebrow at the pair and grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "Naughty, naughty! What are we going to do with you now, hmm?" She asked, her high voice almost childlike. When neither responded, she pouted in disappointment. "Oooooh! Have people been saying mean things about me again?" she asked sadly, her wings drooping slightly.

The boys considered this for a moment. Their time in Neverland had taught them many things, including the importance of family and how to skin squirrels. But the most important lesson they had learned was Neverland was a place of lies, where you could never be sure what was what, let alone what might be true. The island itself lied about time, for goodness sake! They had never seen this pixie before, only heard rumours about her, and for all they knew, Pan could have planted ideas about her in the Lost Boys' heads! She did seem harmless, after all. The younger boy stepped forward nervously.

"I'm sorry, Tinkerbell."

The change was drastic, and the Lost Boys literally saw red. Blue became red in the blink of an eye and her glow became almost blinding in her fury.

"ONLY HE CAN CALL ME THAT!" she shrieked, her high, childish voice managing to take on a venomous tone. "HOW DARE YOU! I'LL-"

Catching herself, she took several deep breaths, her colour slowly fading back to its natural green. Shaking her head slightly, looked them over, smirking slightly before remembering what she had taken from them.

"Since you went to all that trouble to get this, I suppose I should return it to you," she murmured, and in one quick motion, she showered the boys with the stolen pixie dust, cackling gleefully as they slowly rose into the air, limbs flailing about uselessly as they tried to fly away.

"Sorry, boys. Unfortunately for you, pixie dust is controlled by the pixie you took it from. You're all mine." she purred, and began flying for skull rock, a gesture causing the boys to float beside her. "Come along now, John, Michael. Pan's been wanting to talk to you about your sister."

"_Following the leader, the leader, the leader_

_We're following the leader wherever he may go._

_You'll rot here forever, forever, forever!_

_You'll rot here forever,_

_There's nowhere you can go."_


End file.
